The 2025 Tour de France has gone to plan, and that means star rider Tadej Pogačar is poised to win the event for the fourth time in his career.
Pogačar has been the top dog in cycling over the last six years, though his battles with Jonas Vingegaard and Mathieu van der Poel can’t be called one-sided. At the Tour de France, Pogačar is in line to win his fourth championship in six attempts, while Vingegaard (who sits second in this year’s general classification) has won twice.
What’s impressive is that Pogačar has also shown proficiency in pursuing King of the Mountain titles as well, finishing atop the category twice at the Tour de France and once at the Giro d’Italia. With Pogačar holding big leads in the general and mountain classifications heading into the 21st and final stage, he’s set to expand his personal trophy case on Sunday.
Here is what to know about the 2025 Tour de France leader Tadej Pogačar:
Who is Tadej Pogacar? Meed the Tour de France star
Tadej Pogačar, 26, has emerged in recent years as the biggest force in men’s cycling. Per Rouleur, Pogačar, a Ljubljana, Slovenia native, took up the sport at nine years old, idolizing greats like Tour de France winners Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck.
Pogačar started out with the Rog-Ljubljana cycling club, impressing in youth events — including the 2018 Tour de l’Avenir, a race for cyclists between the ages of 17-22 that takes place on much of the same course as the Tour de France — before moving on to his current team, UAE Team Emirates XRG in 2019.
After a promising start as a professional, he won the 2019 Tour of California at age 20, making him the youngest cyclist to ever win a UCI WorldTour stage race. Shortly thereafter, he won three stages of the Vuelta de España, finishing third overall and claiming the Young Rider title at one of cycling’s biggest races (a.k.a. the Grand Tours).
Since then, Pogačar has been nothing short of dominant. In 2020, the plan for his debut at the Tour de France was initially for the youngster to be a support rider for UAE Team Emirates XRG’s Fabio Aru. However, Aru withdrew after nine stages, and Pogačar seized the moment. Just 21 years old, he would pick up the yellow jersey, winning three stages en route to becoming the first rider since 1983 to win the Tour de France in his debut appearance.
Over the past five years, Pogačar has an unparalleled record. He won the Tour de France again in 2021 and 2024, and currently leads the field by over four minutes at the ongoing 2025 edition. He claimed his first Giro d’Italia in 2024 as well, leaving a general classification win at the Vuelta de España as the one box left unchecked in his success at the Grand Tours. Pogačar has not raced in the Vuelta since 2019 and has not yet committed to the 2025 version, but speculation is rampant that he will do so later this year.
Overall, Pogačar has won 14 stage races, 24 one-day races, and has been the top-ranked cyclist in the UCI World Rankings for four straight years. He also won the bronze medal in the men’s road race at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Tour de France 2025: How to watch, TV channel, streaming
Every stage of the 2025 Tour de France will stream live on Peacock. Coverage will begin at 6 or 6:30 a.m. ET, depending on the stage.
NBC will broadcast a highlights and analysis show after stage 21, with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
Watch the 2025 Tour de France on Peacock